{"id":2616928,"date":"2026-06-21T12:55:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T16:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lib-writer-tries-to-pretend-juneteenth-has-always-been-major-holiday-but-social-media-has-receipts\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T12:57:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T16:57:59","slug":"lib-writer-tries-to-pretend-juneteenth-has-always-been-major-holiday-but-social-media-has-receipts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lib-writer-tries-to-pretend-juneteenth-has-always-been-major-holiday-but-social-media-has-receipts\/","title":{"rendered":"Lib Writer Tries to Pretend Juneteenth Has Always Been Major Holiday, But Social Media Has Receipts"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flib-writer-tries-to-pretend-juneteenth-has-always-been-major-holiday-but-social-media-has-receipts%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2616928&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/khymani-james-dumbassery-on-display-just-two-days-before-his-expulsion\/\" title=\"Khymani James displays foolish behavior shortly before being expelled\">provided content includes<\/a> a personal message commemorating Juneteenth, a holiday that marks the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Texas. The author humorously reflects on missing the holiday&#8217;s acknowledgment due to everyday distractions like washing hair or watching TV. They emphasize that Juneteenth is a important Black holiday,especially after becoming a federal holiday in 2021,symbolizing the day slaves in Texas were freed following the Civil War. <\/p>\n<p>The discussion critiques the perception that awareness of Juneteenth pre-2020 was widespread among Americans, citing social media exchanges to highlight debates around cultural literacy and the holiday\u2019s significance. The author notes that,historically,Juneteenth was primarily celebrated in Texas and other regions,and it&#8217;s recognition as a national holiday gained prominence only recently.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the piece touches on political and cultural controversies, including accusations that the holiday was politicized or weaponized, especially during the summer of 2020 amid nationwide protests and racial reckonings. It also questions the motivations behind increased recognition, suggesting some figures began promoting the holiday more prominently in recent years. the text critiques how Juneteenth\u2019s meaning has been amplified and politicized in contemporary discourse, contrasting ancient regional observance with modern national conversations.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Happy belated Juneteenth, for those of you who celebrate.<\/p>\n<p>I would have written this post to coincide with the holiday, but I think I had to wash my hair, or that episode of \u201cFriends\u201d where Reese Witherspoon plays Rachel\u2019s younger sister was on \u201cNick at Nite\u201d and I didn\u2019t want to miss it. Something like that.<\/p>\n<p>As we learned in 2020, Juneteenth \u2014 a portmanteau of June 19, when it is commemorated \u2014 is a holiday that\u2019s more important than Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/super-bowl-viewership-drops-year-year-still-sets-record\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Super Bowl<\/a>, and Talk Like a Pirate Day combined into one.<\/p>\n<p>Six years on, the left still pretends that it is. The question remains, though: What the heck is it?<\/p>\n<p>We know it\u2019s a black \u2014 sorry, capital-B Black \u2014 holiday. We know that the reason it became a federal holiday in 2021 was because then-President Joe Biden felt the need to atone for the martyrdom of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-2025-pro-sports-teams-still-lionizing-george-floyd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">St. George Floyd of Counterfeit $20s<\/a> the previous year.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy began when conservative pundit Vince Dao pointed out (correctly) that Juneteenth as a national institution \u201cstarted in 2020 because race communists weaponized an obscure holiday to cancel Trump\u2019s Tulsa rally and call us racist for not knowing what it was (nobody did).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This prompted a terse tsk-tsking from leftist activist and journalist Joe Catron: \u201cLiterally every American making a basic attempt at cultural literacy knew what Juneteenth was before 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Literally every American making a basic attempt at cultural literacy knew what Juneteenth was before 2020.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Joe Catron (@jncatron) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jncatron\/status\/2068184420385804555?\">June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Okay, then, multiple choice quiz for those of you who\u2019ve made a \u201cbasic attempt at cultural literacy\u201d \u2014 What\u2019s Juneteenth?<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The day the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.<\/li>\n<li>The day slaves in Louisiana were freed by Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman.<\/li>\n<li>The day \u201cCalvin and Hobbes\u201d was first published in newspapers in 1985.<\/li>\n<li>The day slaves in Texas were freed after the end of the Civil War.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If you answered No. 4, you were probably lucky. If you answered No. 2, maybe you actually kind of <em>should<\/em> make \u201ca basic attempt at cultural literacy,\u201d as much as \u201cCalvin and Hobbes\u201d remains an enduring corpus of work better than most 21st century novels or visual art.<\/p>\n<p>However, while the holiday has been celebrated in a minor key since 1866, it was mostly celebrated in Texas \u2014 you know, where it <em>happened<\/em>, which makes sense \u2014 and then as a uniquely regional matter.<\/p>\n<p>I will admit to being vaguely aware of it before the Summer of Floyd, if only because it was the title of Ralph Ellison\u2019s posthumously published second novel. (Spoiler alert, for those of you who haven\u2019t read it: There\u2019s almost always a reason completed or mostly completed novels are published after the author dies, and it\u2019s not because they\u2019re good. If you\u2019re one of those people striving for a \u201cbasic attempt at cultural literacy\u201d \u2014 like Mr. Catron demands you <em>must<\/em> \u2014 the only Ellison novel still worth reading is \u201cInvisible Man.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>But anyhow, Ralph Ellison\u2019s literary chops aren\u2019t the issue here. Mr. Catron is apparently a huge Juneteenth booster and knew about its ingrained cultural significance before 2020, so surely he was vocal about it as an activist and a writer, right?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">You didn\u2019t celebrate Juneteenth even once before 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4mmk5Ji68J\">pic.twitter.com\/4mmk5Ji68J<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 PoIiMath (@politicalmath) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/politicalmath\/status\/2068188401774264645?\">June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>To be fair, it\u2019s only been celebrated since 1866. He probably had a lot going on during those 153 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/picture-perfect-troll-trump-adds-birthday-list-dates-free-natl-park-admission-cuts-mlk-day-juneteenth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Juneteenths<\/a> to neglect to mention it.<\/p>\n<p>But boy, in 2020, was he ever on that holiday like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/never-grew-mamdanis-college-essay-white-privilege-resurfaces\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">white privilege<\/a> on rice:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Crazy you knew about it but didn\u2019t mention it until 1 day before it in 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pS1KdFJyQL\">pic.twitter.com\/pS1KdFJyQL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 CEC (@WayneHornet25) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WayneHornet25\/status\/2068194073454723317?\">June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Guess he was just making up for lost time. Or maybe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/cnn-mocked-labeling-kenosha-mostly-peaceful-footage-showed-opposite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">something else happened that year<\/a>. Probably the latter.<\/p>\n<p>The Catron-Dao discourse on X was pretty much the problem with Juneteenth as a national holiday in microcosm. Nobody has an issue with Juneteenth <em>qua<\/em> Juneteenth: a regional holiday celebrated by the black community in Texas and some other parts of the country, albeit in a minor key because it\u2019s a minor thing in the major drama that was the American Civil War.<\/p>\n<p>The fact that Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger ordered slaves freed and the Emancipation Proclamation enforced in one state is something to celebrate, of course. But since 2020, it\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trumps-juneteenth-comment-enrages-jimmy-kimmel-leftists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">been neither minor nor a celebration<\/a>. Instead, it\u2019s an occasion for white liberal self-flagellation, followed by a mass cudgel-wielding against anyone who didn\u2019t don the hairshirt of privilege-guilt on June 19.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s good to know, however, that 2020 was the year that Joe Catron \u2014 like so many of his other <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >fellow travelers \u2014 finally attained basic cultural literacy<\/a>. Seldom, however, are the receipts (and the arrogance that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-did-don-lemon-announce-his-last-show-on-cnn\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Did Don Lemon Announce His Last Show On CNN?\">prompted social media users<\/a> to produce them) this blatant.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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I meant to post this on the holiday but got sidetracked-maybe I was washing my hair or watching that \u201cFriends\u201d episode with Reese Witherspoon as Rachel\u2019s sister on Nick at Nite<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2616929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ben-net-81.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[81498,28972,81497],"class_list":["post-2616928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-holidaycontroversy","tag-juneteenth","tag-libwriter"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ben-net-81.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2616928"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2616932,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616928\/revisions\/2616932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2616929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2616928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2616928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2616928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}